Russo said he decided to first announce his candidacy by Twitter because he wanted to try "something different." His handle,
@RussoforSheriff, on Monday had 23,208 followers, a majority of which -- 98 percent-- aren't real people, according to the Web application Status People Fake Follower Check. The program analyzes the
quality of an account's Twitter followers by testing to see how many followers
qualify as spam; tell-tale signs include having few or no followers and limited
activity, according to the application's website.

Russo said that he is not sure how he accrued so many
followers since starting his account Jan. 4. He said he did not buy any
followers, and that he has an information technology team that set up his Twitter and Facebook accounts and website. He said his interaction with the account has been limited to the 15 Tweets
he's sent out since the account's creation.

"I don't know what happened," he said. "I woke up one day,
and I had so many."

"It must be because I'm in a uniform," he said of his Twitter photo.

Inflating Twitter numbers

Fake followers can emerge on their own, but they can also be
purchased in bulk. A quick Google search shows that 1,000 of these so-called zombie
followers can be bought for as low as $12. The issue of amassing spam followers
surfaced in the 2012 Republican primaries when Mitt Romney's Twitter account saw
a large and sudden uptick in one weekend.

Fraudulently increasing Twitter followers can be tempting but also comes
at a price, said Sree Sreenivasan, ColumbiaUniversity's chief digital officer,
speaking generally about the issue.

"There's something very alluring about trying to pump up your
Twitter numbers," he said. "In politics, people tend to support winners."

He said that he's checked Twitter accounts through
Status People and finds that those with large numbers of fake followers appear untrustworthy.

"It reflects an ethical problem, and a not understanding
technology problem," he said.

Gallant and McDonald as of Monday did not have Twitter accounts dedicated to their campaigns.

Russo touts experience

Russo has 25 years of law enforcement experience, including
time as an officer with the state Department of Human Services and Hampton, he said. What sets him apart, he
said, is that he served as a Hunterdon County undersheriff for seven and a half years.

"That puts me by far as the most experienced in doing sheriff's work," he said. "Running a police department is not the same as
running a municipal police department."

As undersheriff, Russo faced a 23-count indictment alleging
official misconduct and other charges, which were also filed against former
Sheriff Deborah Trout and an investigator. The state Attorney General's Office
dismissed the indictments on grounds that they were riddled with factual
and legal discrepancies. Russo's indictment came about one month before the
2010 Republican primaries for Warren County Sheriff, a race in which Russo
remained and was defeated by Gallant.

Russo remains embroiled in a lawsuit against HunterdonCounty authorities in connection
with the indictment and referred to the charges as "bogus." He is confident
that voters will concentrate on the issues in the election.

"I think people are going to see that for what it is," he
said. "I've been vindicated. I've had what I believe to be an esteemed law
enforcement career."

He said his long-term relationship with WarrenCounty politics, which included a
four-year stint on Hackettstown Town Council, demonstrates that he isn't a "Johnny-come-lately"
to Republican politics.

He declined to discuss specific plans for the sheriff's
office, pending his public announcement. He did, however, echo criticism voiced
by McDonald over a $15,000 stipend granted to Gallant when the county sheriff's
office took over the jail.

"That is ridiculous," he said.

***

BIO SNAPSHOT

Michael Russo said he plans to run for Warren County sheriff.

Resides: Phillipsburg (10 years); born in Hackettstown

Experience (at a glance):

seven and a half years as Hunterdon County undersheriff

four and a half years as Hampton police officer

Federal law enforcement experience, 1994 to 2007, serving in the following: Smithsonian Office of Protection, Department of Defense Police, Department of Veteran Affairs Police and the Federal Protection Service